William Underhill

Underhill was born on April 13, 1933, the son of Alfred Underhill and Katharine Gibbs Underhill.[1] He studied at California College of Arts & Crafts, and the University of California, Berkeley with Peter Voulkos.[2] He was drafted into the US Army in 1957, and served in Germany. After being discharged from the Army in 1959, he returned to the University of California, Berkeley where he received his B.A. in art in 1960 and his art M.A. in 1961.[1] In 1965, Underhill moved with his family to Brooklyn, NY where he taught at the Pratt Institute.

Alfred University invited Underhill to conduct a workshop in 1968. In 1969, he was offered a permanent position, where he taught sculpture until 1997.[3][4] Underhill started Alfred University's first bronze foundry. He sculpted the statue of King Alfred, which was dedicated there in September 1990.[5]

He received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and from the New York State Council for the Arts.

In 1961, Underhill helped establish a foundry at Berkeley where he began to cast bronze sculptural forms.[2] His technique involved using a clay vessel or mold coated with wax, essentially making a negative of the bronze casting. Throughout his career, he made distinct geometric pots on stands and legs.

William Underhill married photographer Linn Underhill née Baldwin in 1957. The couple had three children—Sarah, Joseph, and Katherine. The marriage ended in divorce. He later married author and fellow Alfred University faculty member Linda Underhill, née Leshinski. They remained married until her death in 2011.

• Official website
• Oral history interview with William Underhill, 2002 June 8, Archives of American Art